TENS of thousands of people are facing a delay in Covid-19 test results following a problem at the UK Government Lighthouse facility in Glasgow which has meant 64,000 tests from across the UK, including Scotland, have been rerouted to other centres.
A further 316 positive coronavirus cases were recorded yesterday but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots to treat these “with some caution” due to the delay caused by a “testing capacity issue” at the city lab.
The issue at the Lighthouse facility has resulted in tests being sent to other processing centres throughout the UK. The Scottish Government said any additional cases will be reported in the coming days.
A statement from the Scottish Government said: “We were notified late last week of a testing capacity issue with the UK Government Lighthouse facility in Glasgow.
“This has meant around 64,000 tests from across the UK, including Scotland, will be rerouted this weekend to other testing sites in the UK and Northern Ireland, including tests from our physical testing sites, for example regional tests sites.
“It is important to note that the majority of these tests are still well within the 24 and 48-hour timeframe for results albeit we do expect to see an increase in the level of positives on Monday and Tuesday when the results are reported.”
It said it was trying to establish with the UK Government what was causing the delay “mainly due to demand from out with Scotland”.
It added: “We continue to reroute routine testing of care home staff through NHS Scotland testing facilities to ensure prompt turnaround times.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “This claim is categorically untrue. There is no capacity issue at the UK Government’s Glasgow Lighthouse Lab.
“The Glasgow Lighthouse Lab is highly efficient, with the capacity to analyse tens of thousands of samples a day. Rerouting tests to other laboratories is a routine practice to ensure timely processing.”
In a tweet, Sturgeon said: “Today’s figure for positive Covid cases should be treated with some caution due to a processing delay within the UK lab system.”
She added that the Scottish government was working with the UK Government to “understand and resolve this as quickly as possible” and that updates on the situation would be given at today’s daily coronavirus briefing.
As virus cases increase, the Scottish Government is set to publish proposals for a tiered system of alerts in the coming days. This would trigger different levels of restrictions in different parts of Scotland depending on local virus levels.
The First Minister told Holyrood the plans for the new Scottish strategic approach will be set out this week with MSPs to debate and vote on them following their return from the October recess which ends on Sunday.
A new local alert system was brought into force in England last week with three levels unveiled: “very high alert”, “high alert” and “medium alert”.
Most parts of England are currently in the lowest tier 1 level, with areas such as London, Essex and Barrow-in-Furness in tier two, meaning people there can no longer mix inside with those from other households.
Lancashire and Liverpool are in the top tier – tier three – with pubs there required to close. Among the other curbs there, people are also not allowed to mix with other households indoors or outdoors, including in private gardens.
Last week, Sturgeon took part in a Cobra meeting with leaders from across the UK to discuss the new alert system in England.
She later told Holyrood the Scottish Government “will look carefully at” the system in England as it develops its strategic tiered approach “and we will try to have as much alignment with it as possible”.
However, she also cited concerns by Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England that the third tier of the English system, which is the highest tier, “probably does not go far enough to get infection down”.
She said: “That is one aspect that we are looking at, to see whether we would modify it in Scotland. We will publish our proposals before Parliament returns from the October break, and Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise, debate and decide on them when it returns.”
The First Minister also told MSPs her government would set out the conditions which would trigger a move into the specific levels and how that would fit with any financial support.
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